One of my favorite people to talk soccer with is former D.C. United coach Ray Hudson, now lead analyst for Gol TV. He is a man who has no problem speaking his mind about all soccer issues.
Hudson and his Gol TV mates are making history, covering the entire Copa America tournament in English for the first time.
However, after the United States won its fourth CONCACAF Gold Cup in June by defeating Mexico, 2-1, the team sent to Copa America in Venezuela was just a shell of the Gold Cup winner. That was a mistake, according to Hudson.
“Look, winning the Gold Cup against Mexico was a grand thing,” Hudson said. “However, not taking the Copa America as seriously was like taking one step forward and two steps back for U.S. Soccer. Copa America is the real test for the national team and next to winning the World Cup, a win in Venezuela, or for that matter making the final four, would have been huge for the U.S. team.”
Overall, Hudson has been impressed with Copa America and its compelling play.
“This has been a soccer fan’s dream, a real goalfest,” Hudson said. “I mean, we have seen soccer’s version of the fast-break offense and no one has played defense.
“I really think that Argentina has a wonderful team and they will beat Brazil Sunday in the finals and I can’t wait to do the game.”
Hudson, who has made a name for himself as a top-notch soccer analyst at Gol TV, will be doing color on the third-place game Saturday at 5 p.m. when Uruguay faces Mexico and then the final on Sunday between powers Argentina and Brazil at 5 p.m. The games can also be seen on Univision and TeleFutura in Spanish.
Jim Williams isa seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this! on www.examiner.com.
